DON BURK/The Times-UnionEdward Williams, a local physician, examines the knee of James Cook at the new medical center at Edward Waters College.

DON BURK/The Times-UnionDouglas Edwards is the practicing administrator at the medical center and is assisted by staff and volunteers, like nurse Tracy Evans. The new clinic is open to not only students but also members of the surrounding community, including assisted-living centers. Williams said the clinic will be helpful to the neighbors, who would otherwise have to go to the hospital for care.

The emergency room isn't the proper venue to treat a cold.

Trauma takes precedence, and patients with runny noses or sore throats could sit in the waiting room for hours.

But students at Edward Waters College were often forced to head to the hospital if they were feeling under the weather because of a lack of treatment options at the school and in the surrounding neighborhood.

Now, with the school's newly opened Family Medical Center, the wait is over for students seeking medical help close to campus.

Doug Edwards, owner of National Managed Care Solutions and the center's administrator, first pitched the project to the school. He said the facility offers a massive improvement in care for students.

A school spokeswoman said the only other on-campus medical facility is in the Schell-Sweet Community Resource Center, which staffs a volunteer nurse who treats minor ailments. Most patients are sent to Shands Jacksonville.

"This facility is designed completely with the students in mind," Edwards said. "Most don't have cars, so we made it close to home. Most don't have the means to take off to an emergency room for hours, so we simplified the process for them."

The center is housed in a ranch-style brick house entrenched in the neighborhood, steps from the school's student union. The building was donated to the school in 2004 and was used as an athletics office until August, when the sports program relocated to the finished Adams-Jenkins Sports and Music Center.

Now the refurbished home is filled with medical supplies instead of sports equipment.

Edwards said there was some creative financing employed to keep costs at the facility low. The home was chosen as the base of operations because it was already owned by the college. Two local primary-care doctors - Edward Williams and Patrick Kamish - split time at the center. Their services are billed to the school's insurance provider. The staff will be rounded out by volunteers, Edwards said.

The grand opening was Nov. 13, and patients have started trickling in.

Available to all

Edwards said the center is free for students through the insurance plan offered by the college. They won't be the only patients, though. He said the facility is open to those who live in the neighborhood for a charge that varies based on insurance coverage.

Assisted-living residents in the area are encouraged to visit the clinic instead of the hospital.

Williams said the first few weeks have been slow. It's mostly been students coming in for physicals. But he said things will likely pick up when patients from the Schell-Sweet Center and Campus Towers retirement facility, which have primarily geriatric clientele, come in. The clinic will accept Medicare and Medicaid.

"The elderly people in the neighborhood, they haven't had the option to just go across the street for treatment," Williams said. "They've had to get rides to the emergency room, and that's costly. It's sad how under-served they've been. We're trying to change that."

The EWC center is the second at local colleges but the first open to the public.

Some schools lack a clinic

The University of North Florida has an on-campus facility that is funded by student health and user fees. Doreen Perez, director of student health services, said the clinic is free to students but not faculty and staff. It has a full-time physician and nurse practitioner on staff and about 11 other employees.

Jacksonville University, also a private school, doesn't have a clinic. A spokesman said the school has an agreement with Baptist Medical Center, and transportation is provided for students who need treatment.

Florida State College at Jacksonville doesn't have a campus clinic at any of its four Jacksonville sites. Flagler College has a nursing office that is open Monday through Friday, and a physician makes daily rounds from 7-8 a.m.

Edwards said the Edward Waters clinic will be a major asset to the school - and not just from a services standpoint. He said physicians and nurses will use electronic medical records to keep track of patients' histories because electronic records are being used increasingly by primary-care doctors.

He also said internships will be offered to students seeking jobs in the field.

"It will teach them that it's not just charts and paperwork now," Edwards said. "This is where things are going, and they'll get to see it first hand."

Kamish anticipates patient traffic to pick up soon, and that might lead to extended hours and possibly more staff.

His plans for the center aren't solely treatment-based, however. He said he hopes the facility can receive federal grants for research, especially demographic studies.

The particulars are unclear, he said, but the center's future is inextricably linked to the surrounding community. If the appointment book starts filling up, they can start discussing expansion and possible grants.

But at the moment, Kamish said he wants the center to act as a resource for residents who have gone for years without any local health-care facilities.

"I see this place as the medical hub for the community," he said. "They haven't had anywhere other than the hospital to go to until now. And we want to do all we can to provide them with the treatment they need."